The Scottish Politics thread

[Gabriel]

Just one aside on Scottish politics. Must say how pleased I am to live in a part of the UK that doesn’t need a footballer to force the government to do the right thing on free school meals.

Think it would probably take two footballers in Scotland. ;-)

 

[Saddleworth2]

They didn’t need to be similar, that’s the whole point.

But if you do want to compare, as I’ve said, the UK locked down earlier in both calendar days and number of cases per head of population, well I’ve based that on the figures you gave me.

Every time someone brings up Jacinda Ardern to attack the UK’s response, a light goes out within human consciousness.

Hmmmm

You’re perfectly welcome to that view, I’m not impressed by Johnson either (maybe for different reasons) but it’s the whole comparison that makes me laugh.

Geographical location, territory size, population, population centres, the fact the two largest cities (one about the size of Stockport) is on a different island to the other, no free movement to a continent such as Europe, airport sizes and use, tourists etc. etc. all come into it.

As I say, it’s half way to using the Falkland Islands as a yard stick.

If anyone uses Germany or France or Spain, then fair enough but not bloody NZ.

p.s. You haven't changed either.

 

[Ban-jani]

Hmmmm

p.s. You haven't changed either.

I can’t fathom how anyone could argue with my last post there.

Surely you appreciate it’s comparing two totally different circumstances and Germany is a much better comparison?

I’m not even defending Johnson, I think he’s been bullied into a lockdown by public opinion and has been weak and incompetent.

 

[Saddleworth2]

I can’t fathom how anyone could argue with my last post there.

Surely you appreciate it’s comparing two totally different circumstances and Germany is a much better comparison?

I’m not even defending Johnson, I think he’s been bullied into a lockdown by public opinion and has been weak and incompetent.

Its about the principles. Of course NZ is different to the UK and Scotland. But its not 20 vs 60,000 different (i'm using the excess deaths figure). The truth lies somewhere in between our argument. NZ response has been better because it locked down earlier in the cycle, closed its airspace, had an immeasurably better leader than we have. It was easier to do that for NZ because of the reasons you outlined. It would have been more difficult but by no means impossible for the UK to do the same. We would be in a better space now if we had. This is not hindsight. It is common sense that you do not allow travel from areas that are riddled with Virus. You just dont. We did.

 

[Ban-jani]

Its about the principles. Of course NZ is different to the UK and Scotland. But its not 20 vs 60,000 different (i'm using the excess deaths figure). The truth lies somewhere in between our argument. NZ response has been better because it locked down earlier in the cycle, closed its airspace, had an immeasurably better leader than we have. It was easier to do that for NZ because of the reasons you outlined. It would have been more difficult but by no means impossible for the UK to do the same. We would be in a better space now if we had. This is not hindsight. It is common sense that you do not allow travel from areas that are riddled with Virus. You just dont. We did.

We couldn’t have stopped the travel but we should have quarantined earlier.

It absolutely would have been impossible to keep ours to anywhere near as low as NZ’s figures, they found it in France in December, there’s no way it wasn’t here too.

Don’t use excess deaths, it’s not accurate to describe the actual deaths, I’m not even sure the way Covid-19 is going on death certificates that our way of counting is.

But anyway, NZ is totally different to the UK as a country, use our larger European neighbours don’t use NZ, it’s a terrible comparison.

 

[Saddleworth2]

We couldn’t have stopped the travel but we should have quarantined earlier.

It absolutely would have been impossible to keep ours to anywhere near as low as NZ’s figures, they found it in France in December, there’s no way it wasn’t here too.

Don’t use excess deaths, it’s not accurate to describe the actual deaths, I’m not even sure the way Covid-19 is going on death certificates that our way of counting is.

But anyway, NZ is totally different to the UK as a country, use our larger European neighbours don’t use NZ, it’s a terrible comparison.

Oh well, I tried.

 

[Ban-jani]

Oh well, I tried.

And failed.

 

[Saddleworth2]

And failed.

Not surprising with someone who thinks arithmetically the NZ experience is similar to the UKs when you take the respective population numbers into account. That’s beyond stupid. That you continue to think you are right is slightly troubling. Why did you take a break btw?

 

[Ban-jani]

Not surprising with someone who thinks arithmetically the NZ experience is similar to the UKs when you take the respective population numbers into account. That’s beyond stupid. That you continue to think you are right is slightly troubling. Why did you take a break btw?

Not surprising when someone uses the one country who has Coronavirus totally under control in the Anglosphere/Europe as a stick to beat a government they don’t like with, despite the geographical position, population, tourism, borders, cities, are totally and utterly different.

They’re totally incomparable, I’ve said that several times now, how do you not know by now that I think comparing the two countries is hilariously stupid?

None of your business.

 

[Saddleworth2]

Not surprising when someone uses the one country who has Coronavirus totally under control in the Anglosphere/Europe as a stick to beat a government they don’t like with, despite the geographical position, population, tourism, borders, cities, are totally and utterly different.

They’re totally incomparable, I’ve said that several times now, how do you not know by now that I think comparing the two countries is hilariously stupid?

None of your business.

Oh, I have. I would far rather we had adopted say a New Zealand Approach than the Westminster approach whatever that was.

What were the key differences?

you asked me what the key differences were and now you don’t like the answer. Fairly typical. That’s me out. Go and bother someone else.